Behavior has consequences! This applies both to individuals and to societies. Learn how most of the crises presented by politicians and the media can be traced to the cumulative effects of our own behavior in 5 key areas: Economic Understanding, Discipline, Responsibility, Critical Thinking, and Perspective. Ignoring behavior leads to failure; using this new model leads to real answers.
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Monday, June 5, 2017

Advertising, Politics and the Behavioral Model

I have written many times before that politicians and
advertisers will try almost any argument to persuade us to buy their product or
support their point of view.They are
counting on us not to use our critical thinking or rely on the many valid
sources of information at our fingertips.Instead Americans are inclined to just reflexively accept or reject the premise and
move on. This is especially true of scary or sensational news.

Here is a prime example.Last Friday, while expressing his shock and concern that President Trump
plans to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, former Secretary of State
John Kerry warned, “kids will have worse asthma in the
summer” because of this decision.With
all the strong reasons he could have offered, why did he pick this one?Citing the health of our children is an
attempt to pull at our heartstrings, rather than to present a logical,
persuasive argument. It keeps us in an
emotion-charged, reactive mode – the opposite of critical thinking.

But what do the authorities say?According to WebMD, “the cause of asthma is
unknown. Health experts believe that inherited, environmental, and immune
system factors combine” to produce the symptoms.They go on:“Studies show that exposure to allergens such as dust mites,
cockroaches, and animal dander may influence asthma's development. Some experts
believe there are more cases of asthma because of pollution and less exposure
to certain types of harmful bacteria and other germs.”Pollution may irritate the airways and the
modern, ultra-clean environment we strive for to protect our children may lower
their natural defenses.At this point,
however, these are only possibilities.

Until recently carbon dioxide (CO2) wasn’t even considered
a pollutant. Furthermore, every time a child exhales his or her airways are exposed to CO2.Since CO2 is the focus of the climate
agreement, it’s hard to tell what bearing any increase or decrease would have
on the situation.Perhaps an increase
would cause an increase in flowers in the summertime increasing the pollen.But pollen is only one of the many possible
triggers of asthma; and not all types of plants release pollen in the summer.The real cause is still unknown.

This is not a criticism or personal attack against John
Kerry, just a warning to us all.Politicians,
advertisers and other “influencers” will use any tactic at their disposal to
sell a product, idea or a point of view.They sell political ideas, food, drugs, insurance, dietary supplements, charitable causes, physical and psychological fitness
programs, cars, bicycles, performance bracelets – and the list goes on and
on.Each time we turn on the TV or look
at our phone or tablet, we are exposed to hundreds of these messages.John Kerry may be sincere in his belief that
the decision to not sign an agreement will lead to an asthma epidemic, but
it is still an attempt to gain political backing for his position with a very dubious claim intended to spark worrying rather than questioning.

It takes no more than 3 minutes to research statements like
this one, to find a reputable source and think about what is being said instead
of reacting emotionally.How many people
actually do it?How many parents this
summer will blame the president (instead of, perhaps, their own insistence on perfect sanitation) for their child’s asthma just because John
Kerry planted a seed of suspicion?And
how many other similar beliefs lead us to commit to questionable products,
services or ideas, because we fail to think critically and investigate?

With all the reference material we have at our disposal it’s
a shame that so many people are so easily manipulated.We have it in our ability to force all those
influencers to be more honest, more careful and more accountable.Until we do, they will continue this type of
behavior.

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About Me

is highly qualified to comment on the connection between our behavioral choices and the results we get. His formal education and training in observing and classifying behavior is supported by more than 40 years of practical business experience and 10 years of personal research. He is a West Point graduate with two Master’s degrees in business.
He is also a published author, Master Gardener and RYT200 yoga teacher.